Devastation
by Queen of Stuff
Summary: After Fluttershy gets brutally assaulted, the Mane Six try desperately to find her attacker, only to reveal deeper and darker secrets, such as kidnapping, rape, and torture by a greater, darker foe, something more powerful than enemies of the past, something that may have the capacity to shatter everypony's reality into tiny, bloody pieces...eventually M.
1. Prologue

Fluttershy was devastated.

Typically, she was only devastated when one of the squirrel baby orphans she raised started a meth lab (which was surprisingly common) or if one of her friends suffered some minor injury, such as last week, when Rainbow Dash sprained her wing trying to achieve a Double Fantastico Sonic Rainboom. But Fluttershy barely ever felt any concern for herself because nopony in Equestria would hurt someone as gentle and sweet as the pegasus.

Then again, her problem wasn't from Equestria.

She curled into a little ball and whinnied, her little filly-self writhing with bizarre and unpredictable emotions. She couldn't believe that it had happened. It _couldn't_ have. It was impossible. Nothing that horrible could've happened ever to her or anyone.

Still…

She had to tell somepony. If she didn't, he could do it again, maybe to a younger pony. Apple Bloom's face dashed past her closed eyelids.

It was decided.

She needed to tell Twilight Sparkle.


	2. One

Twilight Sparkle, magician, unicorn, and secretly aspiring astronaut, was writing to Princess Celestia about anything that she could think of.

"Dear Princess," she said aloud to Spike, who wrote it down as quickly as he could. "I think I need something new to do. I've learned a lot about friendship, and even if it's just the basics, I'm still pretty sure there isn't much left. Is there anything else you'd like to be done? Perhaps I could continue my studies with you? Princess, I can barely stand Ponyville anymore…what's wrong with me?"

Just as the last words escaped her mouth, there was a soft knocking at the door. "Spike," she said with eloquence. "Please answer the door."

"Whatever," grumbled Spike, who was growing taller and thinner. She watched him a little wistfully as he walked towards the door; he wasn't a little baby dragon anymore.

He swung the door open with no grace and saw Fluttershy standing nervously in the doorway. "Hey, 'Shy," he said, letting her trot in. "What's with the sweater?"

Indeed, she was wearing a very lumpy, clumsily knit sweater. It was bluish green and looked great with her mane, but it also made her look very tiny.

"Hi, Fluttershy," said Twilight cheerfully, stepping out of the library. "Do you need a book on the habits of shrews?"

"No, the baby shrew likes the mommy shrew now," whispered Fluttershy, turning a bit red. There was a slight but noticeable bruise on her right hoof. "Twilly, um, can I tell you something?"

"Sure," said Twilight distractedly, glancing over her shoulder. "Spike, stay out of the chocolate."

"Can…can Spike step out for this?" asked Fluttershy in her lilting voice.

"It can't be _that_ bad, Fluttershy. _Spike! Out of the chocolate!" _

Fluttershy looked very shy, very breakable. "Please, Twilight?" she whispered. She wasn't making eye contact. "It's unpleasant."

Twilight sighed and brought Fluttershy outside into her back garden. "Alright," she said after casting a muffling spell around them so no one else could hear. She felt rather irritable. "What's this 'unpleasant' thing you have to tell me?"

Fluttershy bit her lower lip. "I…I was hurt."

"So? Everybody gets hurt once in a while."

"Not like this."

"What's this?"

A pause.

"Fluttershy, what are you trying to say?"

Fluttershy stared at her with her big green eyes. A tear slipped down her cheek. Her hooves were shaking. She slowly took off her sweater.

There were bruises all over her back and arms.

Twilight covered her mouth with a hoof. "Fluttershy…what…what happened?"

Fluttershy didn't talk, just continued shaking and crying. There were faint marks on her lower arms, marks of something holding her down.

"Oh, Fluttershy…"

She was raped.

Sweet little Fluttershy was raped.

Fluttershy, who never said a bad word, who always helped the animals, who babysat the tiny pony babies, was raped.

A burning sensation rose up in the back of Twilight's throat. Rage. That was all it could be. How dare some beast do this, some horrible _thing_ corrupt the innocence of this pure and delicate creature…

"Who…who did it?"

Fluttershy curled into a little ball.

"…I don't know."


	3. Two

Pinkie Pie was skipping.

"Hi, Applejack! Hi, Granny Smith! Hi, Rainbow Dash! Hi, Rarity! Hi, everypony!"

She continued skipping, singing a string of 'la's with no particular tune. It was a bright day, a sunshiny day, a cloudless, sunny, blue-sky day, and she intended to spend it skipping and singing and making frosting.

Of course her bubble dreams were burst.

"Pinkie Pie!" shouted Spike, lazing around, barely standing up due to the enormity of his cotton-candy flavored soda. "Twilight wants you, pronto."

"Ooh! Is she having a party? Please let her be having a party. I really want a party! Spike, is it a par—"

"Pinkie Pie, she just wants you over, okay? No party."

Pinkie Pie deflated a bit and trotted to Twilight's little house, her thoughts bouncing back and forth in her head even though she hadn't consumed anything _extremely_ sugary that day.

"I'm _here_," she sung as she burst through the door, her curly pink mane bouncing back and forth uncontrollably. "Hi, Twilight! Hi, Fluttershy! I saw AJ and Dashy and Rarity in Ponyville, so—Fluttershy? Why are you all beat up?"

Fluttershy focused on the floor, and Twilight bit her lip. "We'll delve deeper into that when the rest of the girls get here, okay, Pinkie?"

Pinkie Pie rolled her eyes and blew a bubble with her super sweet and sour lemon explosion blast bubblegum. "Do you like waffles? I was thinking that we should have a waffle party! Or a noodle party! Yeah, noodles! We could eat them and party and it'd be GREAT!"

"Pinkie Pie, shut up," said Rainbow Dash as she walked through the door with the other fillies. "Hey, Fluttershy, what's with the bruises? Have you started flying again? Oh my Gosh, we should totally practice together!"

Rarity ran over, examining each bruise with a designer's eye. "They're _very_ fashion forward, dear," she commented, looking a little miffed. "Did you know that self-mutilation is all the rage in Canterlot right now?"

"Girls!" yelled Twilight, and they promptly shut up. "Look, we have a very serious issue on our hands…Fluttershy, will you so kindly elaborate for those of us who are unaware of your dilemma?"

Fluttershy started to cry again. "Twilight, please don't make me talk about this."

"What happened, Fluttershy?" asked Applejack, smoothing out her mane. "Did somepony hurt you?"

Fluttershy sniffled and dried her eyes. She waited a moment before whispering, "I…I was…assaulted."

"Somepony beat you up?" asked Rarity incredulously. "But _why_? You're the biggest sweetheart I know."

"No, no, no," said Twilight Sparkle, her bangs glittering in the light coming in from the window. "I mean, yes, in a way she was beat up."

"I thought you could only be beat up one way," commented Pinkie Pie, looking at the bookshelves. "Hey, is that on muffins? Can I give it to Derpy Hooves? She really likes muffins."

Applejack got it. "Oh, my God."

Rarity looked at Applejack. "Wait…Fluttershy?"

Rainbow Dash looked enraged. "I swear, I'm going to kill that son of a…a…"

"Mule?" offered Pinkie Pie. "Or maybe…um…manticore!"

"Son of a manticore. Good one, Pinkie. But Fluttershy! That's terrible! Why didn't you tell us sooner?"

"Because I didn't know how to phrase it," said Fluttershy, eyes glued to the floorboards. "I'm sorry if this is wasting your time or anything…"

"Fluttershy, you're our friend," exclaimed Rarity. "You're glamorous and beautiful and virtuous, and you're also in a crisis. Why would any of our little schedules be any more important than you right now?"

"Yeah, Fluttershy," agreed Rainbow Dash. "We really care about you. If we weren't here for you right now, we wouldn't be friends."

"I think we need to do something to get this off of our minds for a while," said Twilight. "Pinkie, can you just set up a little brunch type thing? No balloons or guys in costumes."

"But guys in costumes are so much fun!"

Twilight gave her the look, and she skittered off into the darkness.

x


	4. Three

Rainbow Dash kept flying in the same circle, over and over again, her brain stuck on those bruises.

Fluttershy was so delicate. She could barely take flying, let alone…_don't think about it, Dash. It didn't happen to you, did it? Stop being so…so…_

She soared upwards, her thoughts racing as the altitude thinned and it became hard to breathe. She didn't want to think about those things, not now, not ever.

_Damn it, Fluttershy!_

That was wrong, she knew, but she couldn't do it. She couldn't think about anything pertaining to rape. It freaked her out, like babies. Babies and rape and all of those things were far too icky for her to even _try_ to process.

She landed on a cloud, wings still fluttering, head drooped in defeat. _How could anyone have hurt _Fluttershy? _She's so nice that it's ridiculous. Why would anypony try to hurt her? _

It just didn't make sense.

"Hey! Hey! Rainbow Dash! Hey!"

She sighed and looked down. "What is it, Scootaloo?" she asked. "Can you fly yet?"

Scootaloo frowned momentarily. "Not yet."

"Did you get your cutie mark?"

"Nope!"

"Then what is it?"

Scootaloo smiled and shrugged, her little orange wings fluttering slightly. "You're just so _cool_, Rainbow Dash! I want to be just like you when I get my cutie mark!"

Something broke inside of Rainbow Dash. She remembered when she was a tiny little filly, remembered looking up at Spitfire, the pony next door who was so _cool_ in comparison, who screamed when she got her acceptance letter into Fly School…

"I bet you'll be so cool other pony's heads will explode!" she finally offered. "You know, without really exploding. Um, that's a terrible metaphor. Sorry."

"It's okay," said Scootaloo. She grinned. "Hey, what's Cloudsdale like?"

"Fluffy," said Rainbow Dash, biting her lower lip. "Hey, I have to go see my friend. See you later!"

Scootaloo waved exuberantly as Rainbow Dash soared away, her eyes watering slightly as she flew with barely any idea of where she was going. _Fluttershy was raped. Oh my God, Fluttershy was _raped.

_ Oh…my…God… _

She skidded to the ground, crying. She had no idea why any of this was happening, why it had happened, but she felt awful, like…like…

"Rainbow Dash?" asked Rarity, peering at her through dark-lensed glasses. "Is something wrong?"

"No, no, no," said Rainbow Dash a bit too quickly, smoothing out her ruffled mane with a hoof. "I mean, yeah, um, I…I…"

Rarity bit her lip and stepped forward, her purple mane bouncing lightly. "Is this about the…_incident_ with Fluttershy?"

Her shoulders slumped and she bit her lower lip. "…yeah…"

"It's tough, isn't it?"

"That's an understatement."

"Well, yes, but Dashy, darling, you don't need to feel…ah…directly affected by this."

"What does that mean?"

Rarity seemed to struggle with her words. "Dash, you can't be the victim. That's Fluttershy's job. As long as she's struggling with this, you can't exactly thrust yourself into the empathy pool and feel every single piece of painful reality. You need to…eh…make her coffee and bring her jewels and little presents that remind her that life is worth living."

Rainbow Dash nibbled on her lip. There was the taste of blood, and she knew that it was trickling lightly down her chin.


	5. Four

**Enter the weird plotbunnies. Yes. Lesbians, and lespreg and Twiluna…I just feel like I should put that out there. **

The night was dappled with stars.

Twilight stared at it ever so expectantly, her long eyelashes catching little bits of galactic light and making her irises more blue than violet.

It was indeed a beautiful night, too beautiful for her liking in fact. It felt wrong, with the whole _incident_, that the sky could still be so breathtaking in spite of it all. Truthfully, it made her a little bit more than irate, and she could've very easily continued like that until there was a soft beating of wings.

"Princess Luna," she said with the customary bow. "How are you? Is there trouble in Canterlot?"

"No," answered the princess, her pelt sparkling in the moonlight. There was still something in her face that Twilight couldn't quite place, an emotion a bit too complex for even her intellect to identify. "Please, Twilight…could you inform me of the recent tragedy?"

It took her a moment to place the words in her head, to connect the miniscule atoms. "Oh. Yes. It was…sexual assault."

"Who is the attacker?"

"We don't know."

"The victim?"

"Fluttershy. She's a pegasus, you know, floaty type, very gentle."

"So it's unusual that this happened at all."

"Yes."

Luna leaned in a bit closer, and her slim build, still growing out of adolescence, curved elegantly towards Twilight, the slight contours creating an appealing image. "I have to ask, Twilight, something that may be of slight wonderment, let alone complexity that could easily reprimand the very idea of sanity."

"…what is it, princess? It could hardly be anything of major shock. I've dealt with lots of…err…complications throughout my life."

The princess inhaled deeply, her eyes locked with Twilight's. "Surely the relationship between Shining Armor and Cadance has been recognized, correct?"

"Yes," answered Twilight a little bit breathlessly. "Is something wrong?"

Luna stiffened. "Unfortunately, yes. The couple is attempting to…ah…extend the royal bloodline, but…"

Twilight felt a twinge of dread. "Are they…?"

"She's lost two," whispered Luna in a hushed voice. "It was horrible. The blood was…unspeakable. She's bed ridden, currently, with the third, but our healers doubt that this one will last."

"That's _terrible!"_ exclaimed Twilight. "Why haven't I gotten any word of this from Shining Armor?"

"Royalty has always been a bit secretive, Twilight Sparkle. When a foal is involved, an unborn foal, at that matter, it is unheard of to even entertain the idea of letting the tongue slip and having all of the media after us."

"But I thought the paparazzi have been all but kicked out of Equestria!"

"A paparazzo or two is still left. The best ones always hide the most discreetly. You know of Vinyl Scratch, yes?"

"Or course. Her albums are quite entertaining."

"She was outted by the press about her short-term admittance to the Canterlot Psychiatric Ward. Photo Finish's sex slave emporium was exposed by the press. And God, when Celestia was still a filly, she was on the cover of the newspaper because she said an off-color comment about a preference towards unicorns."

"But what does that have to do with my brother's dead children?"

"Someone in the mail service could very easily be a paparazzo. Even someone like…Derpy Hooves."

"Derpy Hooves?"

"Yes, Derpy Hooves."

Twilight sighed and stared out into the distance. "Princess, would you like to come inside? It's freezing out here."

"It would be my pleasure, Twilight Sparkle."

They stepped in carefully, and Twilight motioned towards the sleeping Spike. They crept into the bedroom, and she sat on the bed, looking up at the princess expectedly.

"What is the rest of the message that you need to convey to me, Princess Luna?"

The princess looked slightly uncomfortable. "Twilight, the royal bloodline needs to be continued."

"…so why don't you or Celestia get married or something until Cadance has a baby?"

"Because Celestia is in a slight predicament, as am I," said Luna honestly. "Our duties are far too important to ignore in comparison to everything else in the universe. However, we also aren't picky."

"About what?"

"Our mates."

Twilight stared at her for a moment. "But…Luna…that's impossible. It just doesn't make any sense as far as biology goes."

Luna smiled. "Nopony really studies the biology of a royal."

Twilight bit her lip and turned. "Luna…but…what will the others think? It's barely heard of, these kind of relationships, and…and…"

"Shh," whispered Luna, leaning forward. "You don't need to worry, darling."

She kissed her softly on the mouth. Immediately, Twilight bent back on the bed, stunned but appreciative. Her legs splayed ever so slightly, and Luna leaned in, her mouth pressing against the violet opening tenderly, kissing in a way that could be no less than completely and utterly erotic.

"Oh," was all she could manage before Luna dived back in, her tongue swaying back and forth gently, a twinge of excitement radiating from the alicorn in tiny waves. It was good, very good, but at the same time, she felt the smallest amount of guilt, as if this was somehow wrong.

"Twilight, why can't we be accepted?" asked Luna, looking up. Her eyes were shiny, and when she blinked, tears dripped down her high cheekbones. "Our love is pure, is it not? Why must we be denied?"

"No idea," panted Twilight. "Please, honey, go back down on me."

Luna's sadness dwindled, and she dove back down, her tongue a magnificent little creature on its own.


	6. Five

**Oh, sweet merciful Gaga! Reviews! I'm so elated, you wouldn't even know. So keep reviewing. Please. :)**

Applejack was stuck.

Not physical stuck, like last week when Apple Bloom got into a tree (how it had happened, nopony knew), but emotionally stuck, mentally stuck, unable to go on much further without complete and utter knowledge of who attacked Fluttershy.

There weren't many male ponies in Ponyville; in fact, there weren't many male ponies anywhere except for Canterlot, and those were either part of the Royal Guard or artisans who were too obsessed with their work to get up and socialize, let alone rape a filly. She knew of the following: Big Mac, Doctor Whooves, Mr. Cake, and…and…

"Damn it," she swore, kicking a tree. _Are we that short on colts?_

There were younger ponies, like Snips and Snails, sure, but she doubted that any of them had the audacity to even _try_ to attempt such a felony. In fact, who would do anything like that in Equestria? Who but—

_Discord._

Applejack sat up, erect as a pole. Discord had to have done it. He was the only logical explanation.

She bolted out of the orchard and ran all the way to Twilight Sparkle's house despite the fact that the moon was glowing in the sky and it was dead quiet outside. She opened the door and ran upstairs. "Twilight! I think I found out who attacked Fluttershy! It was—"

She stopped. Princess Luna was there.

Princess Luna was curled next to Twilight Sparkle.

Princess Luna was curled up next to Twilight Sparkle in bed.

They were also drinking hot chocolate.

"Um…what're y'all doing, exactly?"

Twilight stared at her. "Applejack," she said carefully, "no matter what you do, don't tell anyone about this."

"Err…okay," said Applejack feeling intensely uncomfortable. "Are you guys…like…a thing?"

Luna glanced at Twilight before answering. "Well, if you want to put it like that, yes, we are a 'thing'."

"Oh," said Applejack. She had heard of lesbians before, but to have Twilight Sparkle, one of her best friends, actually be one?

_Ew. _

"Well, what were you saying before?" asked Twilight, eager to change the subject. "Something about Fluttershy's attacker?"

"It was Discord!" exclaimed Applejack. "I'm sure of it!"

"Discord?" asked Luna. "But…he hasn't escaped since…well…"

The two ponies looked at her expectantly, and she shrugged. "Well, I was going to tell you, but we've been trying to keep it under the wraps for as long as possible."

"You mean…Discord's escaped and you haven't _told_ us?"

"…yes…"

"But why?"

"Because he kidnapped Celestia, too, that's why!" shouted Luna, getting up. "I've been taking care of Equestria for months _alone!_ Do you know what's been happening to me? I've been going _insane!"_

"He kidnapped Celestia?" shrieked Twilight, her hot chocolate spilling. "How could you have possibly avoided that?"

"If the public knew, everyone would go into a psychopathic rage," explained Luna through gritted teeth. "Rioting, uncontrollable anarchy. Twilight, it's incredibly difficult. Ponies don't trust me as their ultimate leader, so I have to bend the rules a bit to get anywhere. If they knew about Celestia, they would go completely insane."

Twilight bit her lower lip and paced around the room. "Applejack, get Spike. Get the other Elements of Harmony _now_. We have a serious security problem. A _serious_ security problem…"


	7. Six

The Elements of Harmony (plus Spike and Luna) sat around in a circle, staring at each other while wearing expressions of utmost seriousness.

"Assuming that you know why we're here today, I motion to start the meeting," said Twilight Sparkle, pounding her hoof against the oak floor. "Luna? Please describe our current dilemma."

"Discord has escaped, raped Fluttershy, and kidnapped my sister," said Princess Luna flatly, emotionless as could be. "We have no idea of his whereabouts, if he's sided with anyone, and if he actually _is_ the cause of all of these tragedies. However, until we have proof that he has done otherwise, we will stick to this general thought process that it is his entire fault."

"I second the motion," said Applejack strongly.

"Third it," said Rainbow Dash.

"Fourth it," said Pinkie Pie. "Also, why are we calling it a motion if nothing's actually _moving?"_

"Just because, Pinkie," said Rarity. "Eh…this is so inelegant…I fifth the motion."

"I sex it," said Spike. Everyone looked at him oddly. "You know, sextuplets? Sextons? Sixth?"

"I seventh the motion," whispered Fluttershy. She was still wearing her sweater. It had wilted and looked more gray than blue.

"Then I hereby declare you all part of the new mission to defeat Discord and save Equestria from demise," declared the princess, her pose noble and eloquent in the tiny house.

.:.

"I really can't believe that we're stuck saving the world again," grumbled Spike, lanky as ever and puffing fire out of his nostrils accidentally. "Applejack, do you have any pies?"

"Come _on_, Spike," moaned Rainbow Dash, shoving some random necessities into her saddlebags. "It's not like it's _really_ the end of the world. We're just saving lives and stuff, like superheroes."

"If we're going to be superheroes, I want something better to wear," complained Rarity as Pinkie Pie dumped her saddlebags on her dainty back. "Oof! Pinkie, stop being such a spaz!"

"I'm not a spaz!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie, bouncing up and down. "If anyone's a spaz, it's Derpy!"

"Derpy isn't a spaz," said Rainbow Dash a little protectively. "She's…Derpy."

"Ditzy Doo," sang Pinkie. "Derp-brain! Muffin head! Special!"

"Would you all please _SHUT UP_ and concentrate on packing?" asked an exasperated Twilight. Her bangs were unruly in the midnight heat. "I mean, this is uncalled for! None of you are working together or anything! I don't even know why you're friends!"

Everyone shut up.

Twilight realized what she had just said and her eyes bulged. "No…I…I don't mean it like that," she stammered. "Ponies…I…"

"It's alright, Twilight," said Fluttershy quietly, staring at the ground. "We understand."

"No, I—"

"She didn't mean it, okay, guys?" asked Spike, proving to be helpful for once in his adolescence. "We're all stressed out right now, and a big breakup in friendship won't lead to anything but a load of manure right now."

"Well put, Spike, well put," said Luna, emerging from the shadows. "Now, I must be off. There's been a message from the palace—an urgent message, no less—and I believe that without further ado, something evil may seep into Equestria. Farewell, Elements!"

"Bye, Princess Luna!" said Pinkie Pie, waving as she left. "Twilight, what can we do to prove that Discord is causing all of this terror?"

"I'm going to assume that he isn't in Ponyville or Canterlot," calculated Twilight. "Manehattan might not be a bad guess…but what if he's thought far ahead? He could easily _not_ be in Equestria. Are there other places, though…? I've never really looked into it, but it could easily be possible…"

Meanwhile, Fluttershy was staring at the floor, tears welling up in her eyes. This was starting to become a very normal occurrence, and it was getting on her nerves. "Ponies…"

"What if he's right under our noses?" asked Twilight, starting to hyperventilate. "What if it isn't him and is really Queen Chrysalis? What if what if what if?"

"Ponies, please…"

"Oh my Celestia, what if there's a whole new force of evil set against us?"

"TWILIGHT!"

Everyone stopped talking and looked at Fluttershy. She cleared her throat.

"I don't think Discord raped me," she said. "He was a pony, whoever he was, but he definitely wasn't Discord."

"Why didn't you speak up earlier on?" asked Applejack. "We could've just lost a lot of time."

"Because nopony would _listen_ to me," said Fluttershy impatiently. "Duh."

This side of Fluttershy was new. She never thought against anypony, never acted out or sarcastically.

"Fluttershy…if it was another pony…" said Rarity quietly. "Don't you think you should look into getting some kind of form of a rape kit?"

"No," said Fluttershy, slumping over. "I…I just…"

She burst into tears. Rarity walked over carefully and put a hoof on her shoulder, kissing her on the cheek. "There, there," she whispered. Rarity had the knack of being positively maternal at times; the thought sent a tingly sensation down Twilight's spine. "We understand, darling. It's very hard, isn't it?"

"Yes," sobbed Fluttershy, her pink mane mussed by her tears. "I'm just so scared, Rarity. What if…what if he comes back and hurts you all? I can't be held responsible for anything like that…I…I can't."

"Enough with the monologues already," said Rainbow Dash. She looked uncomfortable. "Can we just pack and kick some major Discord butt?"

"Sure," said Twilight, feeling a bit weak. "Ew."

"What is it, Twi?" asked Pinkie Pie. "You look kind of green."

"It's nothing. I just…feel a little nauseous."

Rainbow Dash swirled around impatiently. "Hello? Did anyone just realize that Fluttershy said that Discord was _not_ her attacker?"

"But Luna seemed pretty convinced that Discord kidnapped Celestia, though," said Twilight unsurely. "I mean, that has to stand for something."

"True, but I think that we may have more than one evil at hand," said Rainbow Dash.


	8. Seven

**So...thanks for the reviews! I love you guys :) Anyway, here's another chapter. **

**SO THE PLOT THICKENS! **

**Trust me, this plot with thicken a lot. Just wait for the interlude chapters...just wait...**

**Also...if you'd like to flame...please do. I need as many reviews as possible in order to blow up my ego. :)**

In the end, they decided to split up. After all, Equestria was too big to be scoured by a single group, let alone six individuals.

Fluttershy was to stay in Ponyville with Spike. Rarity was off to Manehattan. Applejack and Rainbow Dash would explore the wilderness and the skyscapes, respectively. Pinkie Pie was, being the bravest, going to the unexplored territories in the north, and Twilight Sparkle was going to Canterlot.

The streets of Manehattan were cobbled in the older districts and paved in the new developments. There wasn't much monarchic influence here or in the neighboring borough of Coltlyn, but it didn't matter because of the fashion forward derogative. Also, Rarity didn't really care because of the terribly apparent fact that she, along with the other Elements of Harmony, had to save the world.

_Okay, Rarity. You can do this. It's not scary. You're not scared. It's just the fate of the world in your hooves, nothing more. _

She inhaled.

_Oh my God oh my God oh my God we're totally _SCREWED.

"Excuse me?" asked a pretty pink unicorn with a yellow mane. "Are you alright?"

"Um…yes! I'm totally alright! Perfectly…fine. Why?" she stammered, her tongue tripping over the words. "I love your hair! Where'd you get it done?"

"You're not from around here, are you?" asked the unicorn with a smile. "Don't worry. I can always tell about these things…by the way, my name's Cherry Pie. What about you?"

"Pie?" asked Rarity distractedly. "Like Pinkie Pie?"

"Oh, yeah," laughed Cherry. "She's my cousin. You must be Rarity, then. She talks about you guys all the time in her letters."

"I had no idea Pinkie had any family at all, honestly," admitted Rarity. "I'm glad to meet you, Cherry!"

"It's good to meet you, too, Rarity," said Cherry Pie with a smile. "Hey, do you want to go to my bake shop? It's really fantastic."

"I'd love to, but I have an…issue."

"Oh?"

"Yes."

"Such as?"

Rarity shifted. "Can we go somewhere private?"

Cherry's expression changed. "Why? Do you need an abortion or something?"

"What? Wait, no! No! Just…follow me, okay?"

They trotted off into an alleyway. Cherry Pie looked at Rarity excitedly, like whatever she was about to say was going to be the best bit of gossip ever.

"I am on a mission to save Equestria from possible destruction," whispered Rarity.

Cherry giggled. "That's a weird pick up line."

"Wha—no! I'm not a…um…seriously. I'm saving the world."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"Cool."

"Cool?"

"I've never met anyone who was going to save the world before."

"Oh. Well. Now you have."

Cherry Pie giggled. "Well, do you want to meet my boyfriend?"

"Your _what?"_

"My boyfriend. He's part of the drug ring in Manehattan…just don't tell anyone or I'll have to kill you."

Rarity gulped. "Okay."

.:.

The drug ring in Manehattan was slightly more than scary. Take, for instance, the tall, thin, emancipated colts, barely out of foalhood, their eyes dark and beady, scars on their hooves from needles. Then the fillies, all of whom which are pretty and younger than their male counterparts, all of which who are brightly colored and have brilliant cutie marks and really shouldn't be in that environment.

Rarity feels out of place. There is no glamour here, no fantasies about pretty lace, just hard drugs and lives to be lost.

"We're not the bad guys, though," explains Cherry Pie's pegasus boyfriend, Leather Jacket. He's tall and thin and bone white with an unruly black mane. "If you want bad guys, go somewhere else. But if you want to find the cause to all of your problems…well, we might just know who you need."

Cherry Pie hangs off of him, kissing his neck while he talks. She isn't so exuberant when her boyfriend's around. She's more like a little slave.

"If it's anypony, it's probably one of the unicorn gangs," said Leather Jacket. "They're located mainly in Coltlyn, no less, but you'd better watch yourself. They can be a real pain in the ass, if you get my drift."

"Yes, I get your 'drift'," said Rarity as he snickered. "Now, I should probably be leaving."

"Sure," said Leather Jacket. He snickered and Cherry paused in her kissing. "Just try not to get beat up."

.:.

Coltlyn is dark, industrial, nothing like the cobblestone streets of Manehattan. There are dozens of artists and thugs, all with the same moping expression and the same coats. Rarity can't help but feel a little naked; in Ponyville, nobody ever wore this much clothes, let alone any at all for the most part.

After fifteen minutes of dead on walking, she noticed a bunch of unicorns wearing chains and studded collars. She approached them carefully.

"Excuse me, but do you know where Lexington and Fifth is?" she asked flirtatiously. "I'm just from Ponyville, and I don't—"

A hoof connected with her eye, and she collapsed, gasping. One of the brutes took hold of her leg and dragged her into a neighboring alley, past a trash reciprocal and over a splintery doorway. In her heart, a seed of dread signaled knowledge at the next act, but something else inside of her, the glamorous queen, shining and glittery and beautiful, decided on something different.

She stood up and punched her attacker squarely on the mouth. Suddenly, everyone was kicking and snarling as they fought to beat her down, but she wasn't taking any shit. Instead, she was beating up every single pony there, kicking them into what felt like nothingness.

"Which one of you bastard hurt Fluttershy?" she snarled, holding down who seemed to be the leader. "Which one of you?"

A blue-gray unicorn gulped. He was crying silently.

"Alright, then," said Rarity. "Do you know? Did you do it, you piece of slime? _DID YOU?"_

"It wasn't me!" he cried out. "Please, I swear, miss, it wasn't me! It—it—"

"Who was it, then?"

"Lord…Lord of the Bedlam," he choked out. "That's his own little title, we don't know much else about him—"

"Then how do you know that he raped Fluttershy?"

"Because I am him," said the low, clear voice, and she turned around to face an extremely handsome unicorn. He was pale gray with a darker mane, and his eyes were an unbelievable shade of violet. Rarity found herself slipping away into his eyes when she realized that he was a rapist.

"How _dare _you!" she exploded, smacking him across the face. "What in Equestria possessed you to do such an atrocious act? What?"

Bedlam said nothing, only smiled briefly and kissed her mouth. "Beauty, doll," he said. "And if it doesn't escape me, you're quite beautiful yourself."


	9. Interlude One

Princess Celestia screamed in terror.

She was bound at the hooves, blindfolded as well, her silky mane ruffled and wet, a mess in the darkness. She knew that she was in darkness; if there had been light, the blindfold would easily show through. But there was no light, only black, cold ambiguity, and it was a living hell.

There was the clopping of hooves and the clatter of a tray hitting the ground. "Eat," said a metallic voice, and she bent down, licking up the tasteless contents of the tray, her tongue burning at the cruel heat.

"Stand up," said the voice.

"I can't," she gasped. "Please. I can't do this."

Silence, then whiplash. She cried out as the piece of dragon hide ran across her spine. It stopped after ten marks, and then, clumsily, she stood.

"I will cut your bindings now," said the voice. "If you try to escape, I will kill you."

She nodded in silence, tears running down her cheeks as the rough texture of a horn accidentally touched her hooves as it sawed away at the bindings. She knew that blood was trickling down her ankles, but didn't cry out as she wanted to, instead biting her lower lip to conceal the squeal of agony that so desperately wanted to emerge.

"Sit down," said the voice. She obeyed. "Now turn towards me." She obeyed. "Bend down." She obeyed. She obeyed. She obeyed.


	10. Eight

The wind was harsh.

Pinkie Pie squinted and sang 'la, la, la' underneath her breath. The north was colder than she expected, much darker and freezing, more ice caves than she could ever had imagined. Then again, she never really imagined there being ice caves, but they were kind of a nice reminder of something she wasn't completely aware of.

"I'm completely _alone_ in the middle of _nowhere_," she sang, her brain thudding against the inner rims of her skull. "Totally alone in the middle of _nowhere_, oh yeah, that's me."

She sighed and slid down the ice hill, wondering if this one led into an ice cave, too. A lot of hills led into ice caves. She knew this from her tiny amount of experience as an adventurer.

_Pinkie Pie, great adventurer, finds reasoning in something beyond comprehension. _

'Beyond' was a nice word.

_Oh, Celestia, I must be going crazy._

She hit metal and shrieked. This was odd. No ice cave at the bottom of a hill, but instead a metal box?

Wait.

Why was there a metal box at the end of a hill?

There was a latch, so being the brave (or completely stupid) Earth pony she was, she opened it and peered down.

At the bottom of the box, a gray-brown figure was curled into a ball.

"Discord?" she asked in disbelief. "What are you doing in a metal box in the middle of the unexplored northern regions of Equestria?"

Discord coughed and looked up. "Thank you so much for finding me, Pinkie Pie," he said. "I've been down here for weeks…"

"Wait a second," said Pinkie Pie. "If you're in a box…who kidnapped Celestia?"

"Someone kidnapped Celestia?"

"Yep. And someone assaulted Fluttershy. Also, everyone thinks that it was you.'

"I didn't do either of those things."

"Then who did?"

Discord frowned. "I have no idea."

"Not even a tiny little one?"

"Not even a tiny little one."

"Too bad," shrugged Pinkie. "Now, get out of that hole and let's fly and find the others. Good deal?"

"Good deal."

"Also…"

"Yes?"

"Can you just make a tiny bit of chocolate rain?"


	11. Interlude Two

Shining Armor was freaking out.

Never mind the national security issue or the serial rapist or any of that craziness. No, his worries were centered around Cadance and only Cadance.

"Is she going to be alright?" he asked the leaving doctor. "Is the foal alright?"

"If she's on bed rest until the foal is born, they will both be fine," said the doctor wearily. "Complete bed rest, though. Otherwise, she'd be putting miscarriage at risk or possible death for herself. Good day to you, Shining Armor."

"Good day, doctor."

He rushed inside. Cadance was sitting on the bed, circles under her eyes, her complexion pallor to its usual rosy hue. "Hello, Shining," she said weakly, smiling at him. He knew it was forced.

"Cadance," he said, wanting desperately to kiss her but not wanting to risk death of their unborn child. "The doctor told me everything."

"I'm sure he did," she said, curling up under the blanket. "Shining? I…could you get me some muffins?"

.:.

Dinky Doo was playing hopscotch.

"One, two, three, four, insert-words-here-for-some-more," she sang. "Five, six, seven, eight, always-know-that-haters-hate."

She was playing alone like always because nopony ever wanted to play with her. It was just customary.

"Unicorns are awesome, I like food," she sang. "Muffins are great, I like to eat them."

"You're stupid," said a voice, and she turned around to see the one and only Diamond Tiara. "Those words don't even rhyme."

"That's okay," said Dinky, skipping. She was a pretty filly, her grey-purple coat shining always. "My mom says that it doesn't matter."

"Yeah, your _foster_ mom," said Diamond with a snicker. "Who's your real mom? Do you even know?"

"No," said Dinky slowly. She didn't like to talk about her real momma. "You never know."

"Well, _I _know," said Diamond snottily. "It's Derpy Hooves, the retard."

_Derpy Hooves is my mom?_

Derpy Hooves was always nice to Dinky. She always said "Hi, Dinky!" when she made her mail deliveries and gave her muffins. In fact, they both really liked muffins. That could probably be an explanation for genetics. But still…_Derpy Hooves is my _mom? It was just too weird.

"No she isn't," said Dinky, feeling tears well up in her eyes. "She's _totally_ not my mom. And she's not retarded."

"The why do her eyes do that stupid thing?" asked Diamond cruelly. "And why do your eyes do that sometimes?"

"My eyes don't—"

"They do that whenever we talk about history in class," said Diamond, jumping up and down around her. "Dinky-is-retarded, Derpy-is-her-mo-om."

"Shut up!" shouted Dinky, hitting her across the face. "I hate you!"

Diamond Tiara stared at her in shock. "I'm going to tell on you!"

She ran off, and Dinky slumped to the ground, crying. It hurt too much to run away.

_Why didn't anypony tell me that Derpy Hooves is my mom? _

_Is it because of her eyes? _

_Why don't I live with her like other ponies? Why do other ponies get to live with their moms but I can't? _

She sobbed. Life was unfair if you were a short unicorn with eyes that sometimes went derp.

Dinky Doo stood up clumsily and skipped half-heartedly home. It didn't matter if she got into too much trouble; after so long, nothing really mattered anymore. Anyway, Derpy Hooves was her mom. That was enough to change anypony's world.


	12. Nine

Twilight Sparkle was sick.

She had vomited up her breakfast, her lunch, and her dinner. She knew what these were signs of, but she didn't know that they would come so quickly. _Maybe alicorn pregnancies are shorter in gestation. _The idea of a tiny foal growing inside of her was pleasurable; a tiny little adorable mix of her and Luna…

She sighed and skipped off to Shining Armor's quarters.

Cadance wasn't doing any better. All things considered, though, that was alright, seeing as she wasn't doing any worse. Shining, though, was a complete and utter nervous wreck. He wouldn't sleep and had huge circles underneath his eyes, and besides that, had forgotten to shave more than once. He looked worse than Cadance at times.

She wondered how he would take the news.

"Hi, Shining," she said, trying to be cheerful as possible. "How are you?"

"Tired," said Shining, drinking his coffee. "Hay…I…I need to check on Cadance."

"It's okay," lied Twilight. "She's probably fine right now. You know, the farther into a pregnancy, the less chance of premature births, you know."

This didn't help. Shining still got up. "Look, Twilight, until you're a parent…"

"Shining, I'm pregnant," she blurted out.

He stared at her. "Who's the father?"

"Um…Princess Luna."

Shining Armor closed his eyes. "I wish I could say that I'm happy for you, but honestly, Twilly, I'm just pissed off."

When he was gone, she cried.

.:.

It was dark, the middle of the night, when something knocked against her window.

She opened her eyes and quickly ran over. Luna was hovering.

"Hello, Twilight Sparkle," she said. "How are you?"

"Disgusting," replied Twilight, flopping down on the bed. "Shining Armor's mad at me because I'm pregnant."

"That's understandable," said Luna, massaging her shoulders. "Any news on Discord?"

"Not yet. I'm not sure if it was even him."

It was at that exact moment that the window flew open and Pinkie Pie, attached to Discord's back, collapsed inside with a bang.

"Pinkie!" exclaimed Twilight, helping her up. "You caught Discord! But how?"

"I didn't _catch_ him, silly," said Pinkie Pie, rolling her eyes. "He was, like, buried in a box by an ice cave. I _saved_ him."

"So…you didn't kidnap my sister?" asked Luna suspiciously.

Discord shook his head. "Nope. I've been locked in that box for ages. It's been a pain in the arse."

"…great," said Twilight, slumping again. "If you aren't the bad guy, then who is?"

"I'll collect the others," said Luna, standing up grandly. She flew off in a single swift movement.

"Well…what now?" asked Twilight.

"I'm on your side, just so you know," said Discord stoutly, sitting on air. "Pinkie, will you have my hand in eternal gratitude?"

"Fondly so," said Pinkie. "By the way, my name's Pinkamena. If I'm to be your royal bride, that's the only way things will go down."

"Please, guys," said Twilight. She was starting to have a killer headache. "I really can't take it anymore."

"Suit yourself, Twilly," said Pinkie, hopping around. "By the way, any idea of the whereabouts of food? I really want some pizza right now. Pizza with…um…green pepper and…hmm...thyme."

"Great, Pinkie," said Shining Armor as he stepped in. "What's going on here? Discord?"

"I was locked in a box, sir," said Discord, swirling by the ceiling. "Therefore, I can't help you at all."

Shining frowned. "You're kidding me."

"We have no idea on the whereabouts of the attacker, Shining," said Twilight Sparkle. "I mean, literally, we have no idea whatsoever. It sucks."

"Well, that's just great," said Shining sarcastically. "My wife might die, my baby might die, and we _all_ might die if you don't get this together. What the hay is going on here, Twilight?"

"I told you, I have no idea!"

"You—"

He was cut off as the door opened and the rest of the mane six along with Princess Luna and several of the Royal Guard and Spike entered. "Okay," said Applejack, "tell us what's happening."

"I found the rapist," said Rarity. She was covered with bruises. "I think I killed him, but I can't be sure."

"I found Discord," said Pinkie. "He was in a box and is on our side."

"I saw some Changelings," said Rainbow Dash. "They all said that they weren't attacking us any time soon, and Chrysalis is half-dead right now. She won't be attacking us."

"I saw a bear," said Applejack. Everypony stared at her. "What? I did."

"Spike went through puberty," said Fluttershy.

"No!" shouted Rainbow Dash, laughing at Spike. "No way! No freaking way!"

"We'll get to that later," said Twilight. "So, Rarity eliminated the rapist, and that leaves only, what, Celestia left to save?"

"But who buried Discord?" asked Rainbow Dash. "It doesn't make any sense."

"Yes, it does," said a pink unicorn, emerging from the darkness.

"Cherry!" squealed Pinkie. She ran up to hug her. "It's been ages! How's Manehattan?"

"Scary as hell," said Leather Jacket, entering from the hallway. "There's an artiste movement right now. It's pretty intense."

"Who are you?" asked Applejack.

"Friends," said Rarity shortly. "Alright, then. Where could Celestia possibly be?"

"In the most obvious place, of course," said Shining Armor unenthusiastically. "Whenever there's some kind of villainy involved, the villains—if they're any good, that is—hide whatever they're hiding in the most obvious place so the detective or whatever will be able to find it only after a crazy long amount of time."

"Good point," said Twilight. "Okay, then. So Celestia must be in Canterlot?"

"Definitely," said Shining, nodding with a tiny grimace. "Let's search."


	13. Ten

She wasn't searching like the others. Yes, she could be searching, but she isn't.

_If only they knew_…

Rarity, beautiful, fantastic, attractive, stylish…

Raped.

What an awful word.

What an awful, awful word.

_It's just a little sexual abuse, dear. Nothing to really worry about. _

Rarity closed her eyes and let out a shuddery sob. Technically, it wasn't really rape, she told herself, only sodomy, but still. The blood was reddish-black, and it stained her white pelt in a way that made her want to vomit. When it was over, he had laughed, and then she had killed him.

_Murderer. _

.:.

are you going crazy?

.:.

Dinky settled into a little ball. The leaves were kind of wet, but they still felt nice.

She was in Everfree Forest, her little unicorn-self shivering in the night time breeze. Yes, maybe running away wasn't the greatest thing to do at the moment, and yes, maybe it _was_ one of the more stupid things she had done, but something inside of her whispered that it was worth it. She had to leave Ponyville. It was driving her crazy.

The forest was cold, not really what she expected. Then again, she had never left Ponyville before, so _anything_ could be expected, even…well…anything.

"You're really quite naïve, darling," said a voice, and she turned around to see a shadowy figure.

"Who—who are you?" she stammered.

The voice laughed. "No one in particular," it said, walking towards her. In the dim light, she could see smooth, hairless skin. Whatever it was, it was with no doubt a monster. "Dinky, isn't it?"

"Yes," she said nervously. She wished there were more leaves.

"Do you have any desires, Dinky?"

"Desires?"

"Dreams, wishes…" the voice seemed eager for an answer. "Anything you've ever wanted?"

It only took a minute for her to think about it. "Yeah," she said. "I…I want my mom."

"Your mom?" the voice asked. "Who's your mom?"

"Derpy Hooves."

In an instant, Derpy Hooves walked out into the clearing. "Dinky?" she asked, her crossed eyes derped out more than ever.

In the next moment, there was an explosion of blood, and the tattered pelt of Derpy Hooves fluttered to the ground.

"NO!" cried Dinky. She turned to the voice. "Why did you do that? That was my mom!"

"You see, Dinky, I don't do what people want," said the voice. And awful expression appeared on its face. "I do what they _don't want._ You didn't want to be separated from your mother, correct?"

"I didn't want you to _kill_ her!" cried Dinky, tears running down her face. "Is she really dead? Please tell me no! This has to be a bad dream! It—"

She was falling, down, down, down a hole, not stopping until she hit the ground with a thud.

.:.

Her eyes opened a while later.

The moonlight still shone down from the top of the hole, and there were crystals everywhere. It was really beautiful once you got past the whole being 'stuck in a deep pit' thing.

There was a groan and she saw a beautiful alicorn, bruised and bloody, lying next to her.

"Princess Celestia!" she exclaimed, nuzzling her leg. "What—who did this to you?"

"Dinky?" asked Celestia weakly, coughing up blood. "Dinky, why…why are you here?"

"Someone shoved me into this pit," said Dinky, starting to cry. "I think it was a monster."

"It definitely is a monster," said Celestia. "Dinky, please take off my blindfold. We need to get out of here."

Dinky used her horn to slice open the blindfold. Celestia had two black eyes. "Come one, Dinky," she said gently. "Please get on my back. I'll fly us out of here."

She did as she was told and squeezed her eyes shut as Celestia soared upwards. The air was fierce against her face, and bits of crystal broke off when the alicorn's wings propelled them upwards.

They were saved.


	14. Eleven

Rainbow Dash was soaring over Canterlot when she saw something.

"Princess!" she shouted. "You escaped! Who—"

"Later, Rainbow Dash," said Celestia weakly. "Please take this foal from me…I feel very weak…so…so…ah…"

She collapsed in midflight and Dinky Doo's scream ran out, high and clear as crystal.

Rainbow Dash flew down as fast as she could. Dinky looked at her with huge eyes and reached out her arms in protest. She grabbed hold and let the filly sit on her back. She was heavy at all, but Celestia definitely was. She held on to her arm, and the speed slowed around them until they were feet off of the ground. Several ponies ran out.

"The princess!"

"Oh, no, I'll alert—"

"Princess Celestia!"

Twilight Sparkle ran forward. "Is she alright?" she asked nervously, supporting the princess with her tiny body. "Where'd you find her?"

"She found me," said Dashy, aware of the light weight of Dinky against her side. "This filly was by her the entire time though. We could interrogate her if necessary…"

Dinky burst into tears. "It killed my mom!"

.:.

Princess Celestia awoke in a darkened room. Her eyes were still sore, and her body hurt all over, but the fact that it was over with comforted her greatly. _Thank you, God._ She blinked her eyes; the tears were smooth against her bruised face. It was satisfying beyond belief.

The door creaked open. "Princess?" asked a small voice, and Fluttershy walked in.

Fluttershy was always one of her more favored ponies; she was soft and caring and compassionate and adorable. Celestia really appreciated those qualities, and to see them all at once in one body was immensely pleasing.

She sat down on the edge of the bed and placed her hoof around Celestia's. "How are you?" she asked softly.

"Pretty terrible, honestly," said Celestia with a tiny smile. "What about you? Twilight told me about the…incident."

"I think that just admitting that it happened help me," said Fluttershy. "I'm afraid that other ponies…ponies without such great friends…will be affected by this in even more negative ways."

"You know…he did it…to me," said Celestia quietly. "…it…"

"It's alright," said Fluttershy. "I understand. Princess, do you want to go to…I don't know…"

The door swung open and the rest of the mane six came in along with Shining Armor and Princess Luna. "Sister," said the latter, rushing over dramatically, her long mane flickering in the night breeze. "Who captured you?"

"I don't know," sighed Celestia. "Is the filly doing well?"

"Just a little traumatized," answered Twilight. "Princess, what happened? Do you need any medical attention, per say, that we couldn't get to you beforehand without your consent?"

"What do you mean?" asked Celestia hazily. "I'm sorry, I just have a terrible headache…"

"We can come back later," offered Rainbow Dash.

"Anytime," chirped Pinkie Pie.

"No, it's best to get it over with now," said Fluttershy in her soft little voice. "Princess, we need to perform an abortion."

Celestia's eyes widened. "I…?"

"Yes," answered Fluttershy. "You've been gone for quite a while, but you're not too far along for the procedure to be considered 'illegal'. We did an ultrasound and if you carry this to full term, death is a possibility."

"Do it, then," whispered Celestia, sinking into the bed.

There was a baby inside of her.

A foal.

Well, not a foal, exactly, but something that vaguely resembled a foal. A little rape baby.

The rape did it.

"Get it out."

.:.

Dinky Doo was crying when Rainbow Dash found her in the library.

"Hi, Dinky," she said gently, sitting next to her. "Are you feeling okay?"

"No," snuffled Dinky. "My mom died."

"I know, um, kid, but it's going to be alright from now on, okay?"

"How do you know?"

Rainbow Dash sighed. She knew that this day would come eventually, but discussing it in front of a filly wasn't her exact plan.

"When I was a filly, my dad took my mom up to Cloudsdale to visit," she began, picturing the scene in black and white. "She was a unicorn, so they put a magic charm on her."

"Like how my mom was a pegasus!"

"Exactly like that, Dink. Anyway, um…they were up there too long."

"So?"

"My mom fell and died."

Dinky Doo hugged her. "I'm sorry, Dashy."

Rainbow Dash started to cry. "Thanks, Dinkling," she said. "You're a cool little unicorn."

"I wish everybody else believed that."

"What do you mean?"

Dinky sighed. "Nobody likes me at school because my eyes go derp sometimes."

"Everybody's eyes go derp sometimes."

"Really?"

"Yeah." On cue, she derped quite beautifully.

"Oh, cool! You do it almost as good as my mom!"

.:.

Spike was not in a good state of mind.

He paced back and forth, barely able to concentrate on the subject of his brooding, pulling a ruby on and off of his soft underbelly, furious as all hell, unable to do anything at all.

"Spike, calm down," said Twilight from her magazine. "Just try to relax, okay?"

"How can I relax when Rarity is being bizarre?" he demanded, nostrils flared and smoking. "She won't talk to me or any of you for that matter! How can you ignore that? Is she _not_ a priority?"

"God, Spike, stop being so melodramatic," snapped Twilight. "I'm sick of your pubescent little rants. Rarity does not _want _you. Get over it."

She came to regret that in moments.

A blast of fire touched against her face, and she screamed as Spike ran out of the room angrily. He was angry, alright; angry enough to harm his friend.

Spike stomped out, his scaly tail thudding against the floorboards. Seriously, he wanted to get out of Ponyville for good, out of Equestria, even, as long as he could protect Rarity. Rarity was the only pony he knew was worth it.

_Come on, Spike! Twilight's pretty cool, minus her little statement pertaining to—bitch. Fluttershy's alright. Okay, so is Rainbow Dash, and Applejack, and Pinkie Pie, and Celestia, and Luna, and…okay, who am I kidding? I freaking love ponies. _

He sighed and wondered if he'd ever find solace in something other than Rarity's perfume…

_Rarity._

Spike crouched down, ears perked like a predator. He could hear everything going on in the castle—Celestia in the bath, Rainbow Dash flipping the page of a book—and sniffling. Delicate sobbing was a more accurate label.

He ran down the hallway on all fours, his gawkiness giving away to elegance. He burst through a door and found himself face to face with Rarity.

"Spike?" she asked in shock, struggling to wipe away her tears. "What—what are you doing here?"

"Rarity," he said pointedly. "Who hurt you?"

Rarity laughed nervously. "No one hurt me, Spike."

"Look, Rarity, I can tell."

She closed her eyes and sank to the floor. "I killed him," she whispered, tears running down her face. "Okay, Spike? He's dead. I'm a _murderer._"

_Rarity _killed_ somepony? _

It definitely wasn't expected, but the idea of Rarity, bloodied up by another, was strangely attractive in Spike's mind. _Rarity the Badass. _Interesting title…interesting title indeed…

"…and then I smashed his head in," sobbed Rarity. "Oh, Spike, I feel so awful!"

"It's alright, Rare," said Spike, wrapping his arm around her. "You did the right thing."

"You really think so?" sniffled Rarity, looking up at him with her great big doe eyes. "Because…Spike…if you do…could you…could you…?"

He bent down and kissed her on the mouth. _Woah. Woah my Celestia._ She struggled to find his erection, and then slipped on as easy as pie. _Oh my Celestia. _He groaned as she kissed his neck. This was too weird, too awesome to be true. _I'm dreaming. I _have_ to be. It's too good to be true._ But when Rarity came, he knew that it wasn't just a dream at all.

.:.

_There was nothing but darkness. _

_She shifted, her limbs tracing against the already tight inner walls. Life on the inside is not comfortable physically, but it is better than being exposed to the fearful attributes of the outside world. She knew this without knowing why; the knowledge known by the unborn is frighteningly complex at times and sometimes resists being understood. _

_Her eyes opened briefly, and they closed as soon as the flowing liquid around her started to burn. It is warm but dangerous. Danger is something she is well aware of. _

"Twilight? Wake up, Twilight."

_That was the voice of the Other. There were two Others she knew that she was directly connected to, the one above and the one to the side, and lots of smaller, less important others around her, but those two were _connections._ They mattered more than any of the other beings. _

"Yes, Luna?"

"I just wanted to see if you were okay or not."

_One voice is lower, more of a contralto, and the second is mezzo soprano, fine against her ears. She herself, never having spoken in the outer world, doesn't know what her voice is like. She wants to know desperately. _

"Cadance…she lost the baby."

_Emotions run through the one above. _

"No!"

"I know…it's terrible. Shining Armor just burst out of the room crying…"

"He _cries?"_

"Apparently his emotional capacity is greater than a teaspoon, dear."

_She understood this to be humorous, darkly so. She wondered what a baby was, who Cadance was, who Shining Armor was. There was a lot she was _aware_ of, but a lot she didn't _know.

_Grimacing, she turned to her side. The others liked it when she moved. _


	15. Interlude Three

It was very bright.

Luna squinted. She wasn't used to the intensity of the sun from this distance. From the moon, where she had been for ever so long, it had been easy to deal with.

"_Awake, princesses," whispered her mother, nudging her and Celestia awake. "Come, my little darlings. It's time to see your father." _

The memory was a strange one. Then again, all of the memories of her childhood danced around the concepts of reality in Equestria today.

_Celestia, her older sister, yawned. Her pink mane was dappled with sunlight that radiated from the unreal brightness of Astra's body, and Luna, simply pretty Luna, looked like a little shadow in the moonlight. It was cold; it was_ always_ cold in the beginning of time, and red hot at the same time. Astra smiled and nudged Luna. "Come on, dear one. Your father is anxious to see you." _

"Daddy," said Luna dreamily, sighing as she sunk a little bit deeper into her pillow. Daddy was always nice to her, especially to her because everyone knew that Celestia would get the majority of the kingdom, but he was also nice to her because she was special.

_Morpheus soared down from the clouds valiantly. Astra kissed him. "Good morning, mi amor," she said. "Fillies?" _

"_Hi, Daddy!" they cheered simultaneously. Celestia kissed his cheek. "How is space, Daddy?" she asked excitedly. "Have you seen any other alicorns?" _

This was the part of the memory where her brain grew fuzzy. She couldn't remember Daddy's voice, only typed out letters, and something about the origins of alicorns and ponies in general. She figured that it didn't really have any importance, though.

"Luna?" whispered a voice. She turned around and saw Twilight, her mane wet. "The shower's on. I was thinking…"

Eager to distract herself from unpleasant memories, Luna nodded and slipped into their bedroom. In the dim morning light, there were shadows circling Twilight's lower back, slipping underneath her legs and showing the slight but definite swell that was their foal. Luna licked her back and saw the ripple of a shiver that ran down her spine. The memory of Astra and Morpheus was nearly gone.

Twilight bent back against the showerhead and water sprayed around her like a flower. Luna stared, half in amazement, half in erotic pleasure, and bent down, her nose touching the upper part of her partner's opening. It was warm in the cold stream of water.

"Luna," she whispered. "Oh my God."

"Shh," whispered Luna, stroking her mane with a stray hoof. "Come on, Twi."

At last minute, Twilight pulled away.

"What?"

"Have you been with other mares before?"

"Well…"

"Come on, who was it?"

"Spitfire for a while last year."

"Was it serious?"

"Not really."

"What does that mean?"

"It was half serious, half fun." Luna started sweating. _Thank God for the shower._ "Why?"

"Because," said Twilight uncomfortably, smearing soap in her mane. "I want to know. What if you have some secret lover?"

"I assure you, I do _not_ have a secret lover," said Luna, almost laughing at the absurdity. "I'm not like—"

She broke off. "Like who?"

"Nopony."

"Come on, Lulu."

"Lulu?" she snorted in disgust. "Where the hay did that come from?"

"Just tell me, Luna."

Luna sighed. "Okay…my dad was having an affair."

Twilight frowned. "Didn't both of the godponies have affairs with whoever they wanted?"

"No…like, he had one with this unicorn."

"So?"

"They had a foal." Luna felt the tears well up. "A boy. And guess what? They named him _Lunar._"

"Oh, Luna…"

"Yeah. My dad replaced me with some stupid little unicorn boy."

"That sucks," said Twilight, massaging her shoulders. "I'm so sorry I made you bring that up."

"It…it's not okay," said Luna honestly. "I've been trying to block that for ages, you know, and it's really difficult. My mom was crushed."

"I just don't understand how ponies can do that to each other," said Twilight confusedly. "Why leave somepony you love? Is there any sense in it at all?"

"Not really," said Luna, "but then again, I don't think that he loved my mom."


	16. Twelve

Guilt.

It dripped down from her sides, the color of ash mixed with mud, industrially created as each emotion punched her in the heart over and over again. She tried to ignore it, to fuel it into something productive, but guilt is the feeling that can't be denied, and in this case, there would never be forgiveness.

"Princess?" whispered the nurse, and she floated back down into her body, settling into the bones and muscles, possessing it with psychedelic grayscale rainbows dancing in her head. "Princess, you're coming off of the painkillers right now. There may be slight discomfort in your abdomen."

That was an understatement. It felt like a knife had just cleaned her out. In fact, one just had.

There was the clop of hooves and a doctor's face hovering above her own. "The operation was successful, Princess," he said.

_ She reared up on her hind legs. "Daddy!" _

"Yes," she said weakly, trying to regain her composure. "I…I…"

_ "Daddy, no!" _

"What I mean to say is that I'd like a glass of water, please," she said quickly, fueled by the memory. "It would be highly appreciated."

"Very well then. Marsha? Water for the princess, would you not?"

She sunk into her bed and sighed as the ponies left her bedside. A reel of film was flowing through her head at top speed.

_ "Take _that_," said the voice, and she whinnied again. "Come on, Princess. Be a little brave for your country." _

"Ick," she muttered, stretching out. She wanted some hay or some apple cakes. _Apple cakes…_

Another memory:

_ "Isn't she beautiful?" asked Granny Smith with a smile. "Her momma is still in bed, but we're going to call her Applejack."_

Babies.

_ "Meet your little sister, Celestia." _

And then:

_ "Oh god, Spike, harder, yes, yes—"_

Wait.

That wasn't a memory.

Celestia placed her ear against the floor and heard what seemed to be a full out affair in betwixt an element of harmony and a teenage dragon.


	17. Thirteen

Fluttershy was crying.

She did her best to hide it, to conceal her emotions from the others out of kindness, but when she was this alone, this afraid, she had to explode into tears.

It was about, of all ponies, Big Mac.

Fluttershy never really felt any emotions towards anypony that were stronger than 'like'. That's why the whole 'Applejack slipping a secret to her' thing was freaking out.

Even though she didn't like Big Mac, she knew that it would hurt him.

What if he hated her forever?

What if he didn't want to be her _friend?_

She groaned and dug herself deeper into her sweater. Her sweater was one of the rare causes of joy in her life, at least, the rare causes _now_. Before, anything could make her happy; the wind against a baby bird's wing for the first time, Angel eating a carrot while he thought she wasn't looking…little things like that. But now, after, she liked soap and soft things.

Soap was a new discovery. She had bathed before, but after she needed to be as clean as possible. Cleanliness was a nice attribute, a mandatory attribute. Without cleanliness, she didn't have much to look forward to. In fact, it seemed like her life was becoming a series of baths with short interludes of crying and kissing soft flowers, a predictable story built on the thin walls of stability, overridden by the crawlspaces containing slow, dripping madness, daft qualities that she couldn't deal with out of pure fear. It was embarrassing, of course, like when she almost screamed at Twilight for having a tiny crumb attached to her hoof, but it didn't matter. She was still a freak, after all.

_Freak._

Her eyes watered up again and she nuzzled her bear. It was soft and sweet and nothing like a real bear…therefore it was the best thing she had brought with her to Canterlot.

An idea ran through her head.

Maybe it was time for a change...


	18. Fourteen

Pearls were draped around her neck, giant, white pearls from the sea, pearls that glistened in the early morning light. She looked beautiful, he thought, utterly and absolutely beautiful.

"Spike?" she asked in that sexy little purr of hers, dabbling with the makeup on her boudoir. "Spike, sweetheart, be a darling and get me my mascara from my bag."

"Obliged, babe," he said excitedly, reaching into her purse with long claws. The very idea of pleasing her was enough to make his heart pound in his chest. "Black or indigo?"

"Indigo, definitely," she said, staring at her reflection. She thought that she was doing this victim thing pretty well. "It'd be so much more sophisticated."

"Indeed," he said. "Indeed."

They stared into the mirror together, their eyes catching and holding each other's gaze, more intense than a fire ruby, more intense than anything, really…

_Knock. _

"Damn," hissed Rarity, getting up uneasily. "Now what?"

She opened the door and was placed in a rather awkward position between Twilight Sparkle and Applejack.

"Rarity!" screamed Applejack, pulling her hoof. "Come on! Fluttershy—she—she—"

"What?" asked Rarity nonchalantly. "I'm in the middle of something, okay?"

"Fluttershy tried to commit suicide!" exploded Twilight.

.:.

"Is she stable?" whispered Rainbow Dash, looking at her fearfully through the glass. "God, what did we do wrong?"

"Nothing," said a nurse, trotting past almost casually. "You have a suicidal friend. With all likelihood, it's probably something more personal…was there any recent damage done to her personally, such as a breakup?"

"She was raped two months ago," said Twilight solemnly.

"Well then." The nurse cleared her throat. "How unfortunate. That explains a lot…did you get a rape kit?"

"She didn't even tell us until a few weeks after it happened," said Applejack. "We…know who did it, but he's died since then."

"Have you ruled out the possibilities of infection?"

The ponies exchanged glances. "She hasn't told us of anything medical for a while, now. In fact, I don't think she's ever old us _anything_, really," said Rarity.

"Have any of you been assaulted as well?"

Rarity stared at the floor. "I…I was."

"And the degree of the rape?"

"Sodomized."

"Rarity, why didn't you tell us?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"It's common for a victim to conceal the offense," said the nurse, taking notes. "Has your friend exposed suicidal behaviors before?"

"Not that we're aware of," said Twilight.

"Any homicidal behaviors? Behaviors odd or uncanny?"

"She's always been really quiet and meek, I guess," said Rainbow Dash. "She likes animals, though."

"Well then," said the nurse. "I'll go check her vitals. She's a bit delirious right now."

The nurse trotted off leaving the friends in silence.

"Um," said Applejack, "guys? What're we going to do?"

"I don't know," said Twilight. "Rarity, why didn't you ever tell us?"

"I couldn't," whispered Rarity. Tears threatened to pour down her cheeks. "I just couldn't."

"Okay, then," said Rainbow Dash impatiently. "I think we should if anything check on Fluttershy."

They clopped into her room, and the awkward silence pursued them.

Fluttershy was lying on the bed, eyes barely open. The bandages on her arms were thick and pink was starting to show on the bottoms. She also had a black eye, though it didn't seem completely connected to a suicide attempt. Twilight shrugged it off as falling and hitting her face.

"Hey, 'Shy," said Rainbow Dash, nuzzling her mane. "How are you?"

Fluttershy didn't answer, only stared at the ceiling, her green eyes devoid of emotion.

"Do you want some candy or something?" asked Pinkie Pie, talking for the first time. Her hair was flat. Twilight hated when she got distraught.

Fluttershy still didn't answer.

.:.

Deep in a cave in the wilderness of Equestria, the kidnapper of Celestia could not believe what he had gotten himself into.

Derpy Hooves, loyal, weird, ditzy pony, was tied up. Her mouth was open in a laugh. She enjoyed being down here, believe it or not. She _liked_ him.

"What's your name, anyway?" she asked in singsong. "You still haven't told me, Mister."

"I swear to God, I might kill you," said the voice irritably. He really couldn't believe that he had to put up with this. Any other pony was all right, but this monstrosity was something else.

"Whatever, silly-butt."

"Silly—who do you think you're addressing, a clown?"

"I don't know. You never told me what you are."

He stepped forward into the dim candle light. "I'm this! THIS!"

Whatever it was, he was tall and thin with no fur and barely any mane at all. He was wearing a strange garment over his legs and another over his torso. Age was catching up with him, and there were wrinkles starting to form around his eyes and dark spots too. He was frightening beyond words.

Derpy laughed.

"Ugh!" he screamed. "You fool! Do you not see the terror associated with my presence?"

"No," said Derpy. "You seem sort of stupid to me."

He growled and sat down. "Fine. You're just a stupid pony, anyway, not as superior as my race."

"And what race is that?"

"Homo sapiens."

"So you're from Homoland?"

"Wha—no! I'm from America."

"'Merica? That's a weird name."

"It's a culture, really. Very interesting, lots of wigs and obesity. Then again, you don't know what obesity is, do you?"

Derpy shook her head. "When can I leave?"

"Never."

"But I want to go tell Dinky that I'm—"

Something hit her on the head and she blacked out.

**Dun! Dun! DUNNNN! **

**So, review up. Also, what do you want Celestia and Derpy's attacker to be named? Oh, yeah. Like I'd really kill off Derpy. Shoot me now. **

**Review, bronies!**


	19. Interlude of an Interlude

Shining Armor was lost.

Cadance was beside him, of course, as she always was, but she knew. She knew how he was. She knew that each time they lost a baby he was the one who acted out. She had to pull it all in every single time, ignoring and suppressing the emotions that went along with loss.

She rubbed his shoulders that morning, kissing him up and down his neck. "Hay, sweetie," she whispered, nibbling on his ear. "Wake up. Let's go on a picnic."

He muttered something in his half-sleep and rolled over. For a moment, her frown revealed itself, but it was killed as soon as he looked at her. "Where to?"

"Anywhere," said Cadance quietly, looking out of the window. By now, they would've had their first baby. "Ponyville would be nice."

Shining blinked like he hadn't heard her correctly. "Um, yes. Sure. We can go there."

"In the hot air balloon?" asked Cadance hopefully. Actually, it was just a show. She never was hopeful. Not anymore. "I've always wanted to go."

"Sure, Cady," he said with a tiny forced smile. "I...I'd love to go."

.:.

The clouds were like little puffs of marshmallow, marshmallow that wasn't actually sticky and was actually kind of wet when it got down to it.

Cadance tried to play the hopeful bride who was virtuous, somepony that everypony would find to be a sight to see, but Shining didn't seem interested. In fact, he seemed to be just bored if anything at all.

"How can you be so happy?" he asked.

She glared at him. "How can you actually believe that I'm happy, Shining? My babies are _dead_."

He stared at her and shut up.

.:.

The palace was cold.

Cadance stared out of the window. The picnic didn't go as planned.

A tear slid down her face.

.:.

…

.:.

Twilight Sparkle was confused.

"So…is it an alicorn or not?" she asked Luna, who was standing opposite to her, chopping vegetables with her horn.

"Probably an alicorn," said Luna, "all things considered. Either that or…well…anything."

"So, you don't even know if this baby is going to be able to carry on the royal bloodline or not?" asked Twilight a bit irritably. "Because Luna? This pregnancy thing is really starting to be a pain in the neck."

"Mhm," said Luna distractedly. "You look great, though."

Twilight snorted and munched on a carrot. "Whatever. I can't stand it, personally. Yesterday, it kicked, and—"

"The baby's kicked and you haven't told me?"

"I figured you wouldn't care…"

"Of course I'd care! Half of that is my DNA."

"True."

.:.

Fluttershy was officially stable.

Rainbow Dash sat by her bedside uncomfortably. "So…what do you want to do when you get out?"

"Nothing," said Fluttershy, staring at the ceiling.

"Flying or something? I heard they're selling dragon eggs in Cloudsdale."

"No thanks."

"Are you sure? Maybe…" Rainbow Dash hesitated. She could do this in one of two ways, and it was starting to pressure her a bit.

"What?" asked Fluttershy. "What were you going to say?"

Rainbow Dash leaned in and kissed her softly across the mouth. "That," she whispered.


	20. Interlude Interlude Interlude

So, what's the deal?"

Those words had the chance of starting one of the most greatest and awesome searches ever to be started in Equestria, but unbeknownst to the mane six, the greatest and most awesome search would take place years later with another generation. This search, though, would still be pretty epic.

"Well, we have to kill him," said Twilight flatly. "That's the only solution, unfortunately. Who wants to do it?"

There was silence. Nopony knew what to say.

"I'll do it," said Cadance quietly. "I mean, I don't have anything holding me back right now."

"But Cady—" started Shining Armor.

She shook her head. "Let's face it. I can't have babies."

"Anypony else, then?" asked Twilight hopefully. "We may need a small army."

"What the hay," said Applejack, stepping forward. "I need something to do."

"Revenge would be…acceptable," said Dinky Doo. "I know I'm little, but he killed my mom."

"We must unite," said Celestia. "Are you ready?"

.:.

The mane six, along with two alicorns, the head of the royal guard, a spirit of Chaos, a teenage dragon, and Dinky Doo set off early the next morning.

"I know where he is," Celestia had said. "He's in a cave. He's waiting. He's dangerous beyond belief. You may die."

There wasn't any turning back now, just going onward with no regrets. Whatever it was, they were going to kill something majorly evil.

"I feel a bit weird about killing something," admitted Rainbow Dash. "I mean, it's justified, right?"

"Yes," said Twilight, looking onward. "It's completely justified."

"Okay," said Pinkie Pie, who was riding on Discord's back. "I was wondering that, too."

They only walked a little bit further before Pinkie Pie started talking again. "Do you think he's a pony?"

"No, Pinkie Pie," said Celestia. "He's something that doesn't exist in this world."

"So…he's a wild species of banana fish?"

"No, he's not a banana fish," said Fluttershy quietly. "Those are too sweet."

"He doesn't have any fur, except for on his head, and he walks on two legs," said Dinky Doo, shivering. "It's really freaky."

"_Weird,"_ said Pinkie Pie. "That's really, really weird."

.:.

Eventually, they had to camp out.

"Okay, Shining, you can set up the tent, and Pinkie, you can get snacks, and Fluttershy, you can get the bedding," said Twilight. "Guys?"

Everyone was curled into a heap, snoring.

.:

**Just a short filler, really. Wait! The finale will be soon!**


	21. Finale

**OMC. **

**Look. **

**It's a finale. **

**When and if you review, which you should do, please vote for an epilogue/sequel. It would be really appreciated. **

"Who's afraid of Doctor Whooves, Doctor Whooves, Doctor Whooves? Who's afraid of Doctor—"

"Pinkie Pie, shut up."

They were scaling the mountaintop, their hooves dangerously close to the edge, which could only result in a horrible, terribly painful death of falling thousands of feet. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy flew, though, and Dinky Doo was riding on the back of Pinkie Pie, her big eyes tracing the ground below with nervousness.

"Ponies, we mustn't act so harsh to each other," said Princess Celestia. Princess Luna had flown back to the palace in order to raise the moon, and now, the planetoid looked especially tremendous in the darkness of the overwhelming night. "Our goal is to not take down one another, but to defeat this evil."

_Yeah, whatever_, though Leather Jacket, his horn touching Cherry Pie's butt. _If I have to stand through one more moment of this monarchy, I'm going to jump off this cliff. _

"I'm hungry," whined Dinky Doo. "I'm really, really hungry."

"Here's an apple, sweetie," said Applejack, handing her a red-yellow one. "The Princess is right, girls. I don't think we're working together that well."

"We're not working together well because we're not having a _party_," explained Pinkie Pie, bouncing up and down, Dinky holding on for dear life. "When this is over, let's have the biggest, craziest party in Equestria!"

_Dear Celestia, please make Pinkie shut up,_ thought Rainbow Dash, her head pounding. _Also, let Spitfire answer my fan mail. _

"Pinkie Pie, this isn't any time to be talking of such frivolous activity," said Rarity. There were circles under her eyes and her false eyelashes didn't seem to be quite right. "Twilight, any calculations on the destination?"

"I think we have a mile upwards," said Twilight Sparkle. There was a sigh of relief. "But once we get past all of the rocks and stuff, I think it'll be more like five miles."

"Come _on_," groaned Spike, who was crawling on the edge of the mountain with razor sharp claws. "Why am I even here?"

"Because you're a dragon," said Pinkie Pie. "Dragons are great at partying."

"_What?"_ asked Applejack. "Pinkie…why? Just _why?"_

"Well, it's been scientifically proven that dragons are fantastic at partying. It's the brainwaves interacting with the premature fire growing in your nostrils, which therefore result in an explosion of partying!"

"Pinkie, you made that up," said Twilight irritably.

Pinkie shook her head. "Nope. In your library there's a book on it."

"Ponies," said Celestia warningly.

"Can I fly ahead?" asked Rainbow Dash. "I mean, I really can't stand this."

"We have to stay together," reminded Rarity.

"_Ponies."_

"Who put you in charge, Rarity? All you've been doing lately is bang Spike."

"Well, at least I don't fantasize about Spitfire!"

"You little bit—"

Fluttershy was giving them the Stare.

The Stare was a dangerous thing. It only came in times of desperation, and now was such a desperate time.

"You ponies should be ashamed of yourselves," whispered Fluttershy dangerously. "Very, very ashamed."

She flew around them slowly. "We're trying to exterminate whatever has been causing all of this pain in Equestria and all you can think of is petty insults? How _dare _you let yourselves sink to this level. We need vengeance against this foe, not against ourselves. If we don't stick together, we're screwed. Is that enough to convince you?"

The ponies stared at each other. Fluttershy was right, to their dismay. They couldn't let themselves fall to any level at all. At this point, when this story was hit on by paparazzi (which it undoubtedly would), every single detail would be elaborated upon, and if Rainbow Dash and Rarity acted like total fools, they would become media whores. Their entire lives were at stake, really.

"Okay, then," said Twilight Sparkle slowly. "We're going to act very carefully from now on, alright, Fluttershy?"

"Good," said Fluttershy, her eyes a bit dull. "Very good."

.:.

The cave was very dark and cold.

Derpy Hooves wedged herself back and forth in her bonds, staring klutzily at everything. "Hey, Mister?"

"What, Derpy?" asked her unknown captor.

"Do you like muffins?"

.:.

Thunder crashed overhead, and Dinky Doo buried her head into Pinkie's mane, tiny tears running down her cheeks.

At this point, everypony had decided to be silent. They couldn't talk about anything because it would undoubtedly lead to some kind of conflict, so they walked on in silence, the only sound being that of thunder and their hooves hitting the ground.

A flash of lightening lit up the sky and a few ponies screamed. "I'm staying back," said Cherry Pie suddenly.

"Me too," said Leather Jacket. "I don't want to get into this shit."

"Wimps," muttered Rainbow Dash. "Does anybody else want to stay back?"

"I have to go back to the palace," said Princess Celestia. "It'll be day soon."

"Great," said Applejack sourly. "What now?"

"It's just down to us now," said Twilight Sparkle in realization. "The Elements of Harmony all over again."

"And me!" exclaimed Dinky nervously.

"Wait," said Pinkie with a frown. "Where's Discord?"

The ponies looked at each other nervously. "I…I really don't know," said Rarity. "Maybe he flew off?"

"I doubt it," said Twilight. "Maybe he fell."

"But he can _fly,"_ said Pinkie worriedly. "What if he—he—"

She burst into sudden, unpredictable tears. The ponies shared awkward glances, and they continued onwards.

.:.

The man (because, obviously, that's what he was) was masturbating.

Derpy Hooves was watching him confusedly, her yellow eyes scared in the moonlight.

He groaned, moaned, anything that showed some kind of emotion, and he ejaculated all over her face.

"Ew!" she cried. "Mister, what was that for?"

He laughed, not responding in any other way, standing up and walking over towards the entrance of the cave. Still naked, he stared into the distance and then saw _them_.

"Perfect," he hissed. "Perfect, indeed."

.:.

"What _is_ that thing?" asked Applejack, squinting at the skinny hairless thing that was staring at them.

"Maybe it's some kind of animal," said Fluttershy hopefully.

"It's the thing," said Twilight in hushed fright. "Oh my Celestia, everypony, prepare yourselves. He could do anything to us. _Anything._"

Fluttershy closed her eyes and gulped. "Okay," she whispered, stepping towards the entrance of the cave. "I'll do it."

"But—but—"

"It's okay," said Fluttershy. "I…I'll kick his ass."

She stepped into the cave.

Derpy Hooves was tied up in the corner. "Fluttershy!" she said excitedly. "You…you're my hero, right?"

"Or just my next victim," said the human, and it stepped forward, staring at her with dangerously brown eyes, the color of coffee stains. "Do you want to be sodomized, or just raped, darling?"

'Darling' did it.

"YOU WILL NEVER TOUCH A PONY AGAIN," she screamed, barreling towards him.

She swiped her hoof into his eye; he screamed and fell, swearing as blood oozed out. "DIE, YOU FILTHY BEAST!"

"I! AM! NOT! A! BEAST!"

Never mess with Fluttershy.

She bit his chest, and blood spurt out all over her. It got into her eyes and for a moment she thought that she was going blind. Then, everything was clear and she knew that she, Fluttershy, had killed him.

It had been that simple.

"Fluttershy?" asked Derpy, the only other pegasus in fly school who couldn't really fly. "Can you untie me now?"

"Yeah," said Fluttershy, a tiny smile crossing her features. "I…I'd love to."

**So isn't that TOTALLY AWESOME and deserving of REVIEWS?**


	22. Epilogue

"Who's ready to PARTY?"

There was an enthusiastic scream, and everypony got on the dance floor.

To be simple, the whole party situation was really impromptu. In fact, Twilight Sparkle didn't really get it at all, but Pinkie Pie needed some kind of humor in order to go on with her life.

So Princess Celestia allowed her to have the main ball room for a party, and she took her party cannon and then some in order to get it ready. Vinyl Scratch played DJ, and some obscure pony paparazzi hung outside to take pictures for the _Ponyville Exposed_ paper than ran on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It was, altogether, an _event_ and probably the best party Pinkie Pie had thrown in a very long time.

"This is really great, Pinkie," shouted Rarity over the pounding of the music. "You've really outdone yourself."

"Thanks!" exclaimed Pinkie, bouncing around. "It's so great! I LOVE to party!"

She giggled and hopped away, her tail and mane bouncing in the atmosphere.

Four stories above, Twilight Sparkle and Princess Luna were holding each other and staring into the roaring fireplace. They both wore socks.

"I'm still a little confused about how she did it," said Luna, kissing her ear. "How could someone so peaceful and sweet be so…so…?"

"Violent?" inserted Twilight. Luna nodded. "I don't really get it, either. I just know that she just went a bit flutter-rage and just killed him. It _was_ pretty impressive, though."

"Wasn't there, like, a ton of blood?"

"It was pretty sick. There was a lot of screaming, too."

"And the foal…?"

"Oh, Dinky's with her mom right now."

.:.

Derpy Hooves and Dinky Doo were sitting together on a balcony, staring at the crazy lights emitted from the party of craziness.

"Why…why did you give me up?" asked Dinky in a tiny voice.

"I didn't want to," said Derpy quietly. "I really love you, Dink. They just wouldn't let me keep you."

"So…even after all we've been through…?"

"No," said Princess Cadance, stepping from behind. "Derpy, you deserve to be with your daughter…so I've contacted the foal protective services in Ponyville. You can live together as soon as possible."

.:.

Fluttershy was sitting in the royal gardens outside of the ballroom, staring at her hooves and thinking.

What she did wasn't really _wrong_, she thought—it was sort of righteous, if anything at all. Still…she felt dirty about it, about everything that had happened to her. Fearfully, she wondered if she'd never totally recover, if she'd think about the rape every single day, undeterred in thought…

The door opened and she swiveled around quickly, only to see the DJ. She didn't know her name, but she knew that she had been an outcast in unicorn school.

"Hey, you're the hero, right?" she asked. She flicked her blue mane to the side, and her horn shone bright white in the moonlight.

"Well, I guess so," said Fluttershy.

"That's really cool, what you did. You know, the whole 'seeking vengeance for the princess' thing. Radical."

"Sure."

"Listen," said the DJ, changing her tone. "I…I was wondering…here's my number, okay? Call me, if you want to. I mean, if you're not into mares, I get it, but, um…"

"It's okay," said Fluttershy, leaning towards her. "I'm ready now."

.:.

Pinkie Pie checked on the party, making sure that everypony was happy, and then stepped out for a breather, or, as she called it, a sobber.

She missed Discord. It was weird, but whenever she was around him, she got all tingly inside, like they matched. It was strange, sure, but she liked him. He was nice to her.

"Pinkamena?"

She turned around, unbelieving. "Dissy?"

"I'm sorry I didn't come back sooner," he said. "I just wanted to get you this."

He held out a paw and she gasped. There was a beautiful flower there, a flower whose petals looked like…

"Balloons?"

"It's a party lily. I thought that you'd like it."

"Dissy, I…I love it," she said breathlessly. Pinkie Pie rendered breathless was odd. It was absolutely bizarre, in fact.

Something was going on.

.:.

Rarity paused in the crowd.

He was there.

_Spike_, she mouthed.

_Rarity._

_Bedroom. _

_Now? _

_Now._

.:.

Applejack had opted out of the party, preferring to stay home with Soarin'.

It was weird, how everything happened, especially this. Soarin' was nice, sweet, goofy…and like pie. He liked pie a lot.

"Really? Another?" she asked with a telltale grin.

"Of course," he said, nodding vigorously. "AJ, I could die for these things!"

She smiled.

He would get pie.

.:.

The sky was bright with stars. Rainbow Dash loved stars to fly in the best.

_So what if Fluttershy doesn't like you back?_

Trying to convince herself that it was alright was hard, harder than anything she had ever done. Fluttershy was beautiful, more beautiful than anything. But that pretty little filly—mare, now—didn't like her back. It would never work out.

"Hey, Dashykins," said an all too familiar voice.

"Spitfire! I—why aren't you at the party?"

"Looking for you, babycakes."

She wasn't wearing her Wonderbolts uniform, and her pelt was butter-yellow in the moonlight.

She didn't need any convincing now.

.:.

Luna stared at the sleeping pelt of her mare-mate. She had a feeling that it was going to be a filly. She knew that she was going to be an alicorn. There was definite knowledge that she was going to change the world…

**And there you have it. Do you want a sequel? I'll oblige…happily. **

**Any suggestions for the future filly and any pairings? **

**Deep critiques? Hated it? It's alright to be honest. **

**Love, **

**Cannibal**


End file.
